From No ID to Me
by tryanforever91
Summary: It's been a week since Ryan last saw Troy, and they've missed each other too much. When Ryan gets some familiar text messages in homeroom from an anonymous someone, he realizes just how much he's been missed. Tryan. Seuqel to NO CELL PHONES!
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: **Hey everyone! I'm baack!

...again!

Okay, hopefully this time I'm here to stay. I have no idea what happened, but I got a sudden surge of inspiration yesterday and I decided to finally write the sequel to NO CELL PHONES. I've had this idea floating around in my head for MONTHS now, but I was only able to pull it off last night. Oh, and for those who haven't read the prequel, you don't have to read it to understand this story.

I've played around with a lot of new ideas for this story, but the biggest change is that it's my first story written in the first-person. Now that I've tried it, I can see how much better characterization comes out, and I'm hoping this will help me when I apply it to future works. This story is from Ryan's point of view, another new thing, as my stories usually centre around Troy, and I think it turned out well.

**Disclaimer:** Blah blah, I don't own High School Musical, it belongs to Disney.

**Warning:** This story contains slash (male/male relationships). If you don't like slash, please do not read.

OKAY, done talking. I hope you all enjoy my latest masterpiece!

* * *

**From No ID to Me  
**_Written by tryanforever91_

Troy Bolton's a beast in bed.

Okay, now that I have your attention, let me introduce myself. I'm Ryan Evans; 'RYAN!' to my sister, and Ryan to everyone else. I'm a drama geek, I've starred in almost every school production, and I love going clothes shopping. I'm also Troy's boyfriend (and for the record, I don't know what he's like in bed; that's a story for another day).

Some of you know the story, and some of you are wondering how the hell Troy ended up with a fruit like me. Well, that's a tale worth retelling if you really want to know. You've heard of Text-Message Breakup, right? Well, our story is exactly the opposite. We met in homeroom (how romantic), flirted via text (ooh la la), and then we smooched by my locker and he asked me out. The best part? I didn't know it was him until he kissed me. I like to think of it as my own little Cinderella story, and I'm the prince who discovered my true love's identity moments before our happily ever after.

Dandy, ain't it?

It was, as the cliché goes, a dream come true. And it was all thanks to my good-for-nothing sister, whose astronomical phone bill denied me an upgrade to a phone plan with Caller ID. It brought me to the one I loved, and I would do it all over again if I had the chance.

I did get that chance, but the happily ever after was a one-time deal...

-o-o-o-

The first day back from Spring Break always necessitated a homeroom class to reacquaint students with the school they had tried so hard to escape. Upcoming exam dates, tutorial schedules, and updated grades were painful reminders that it was back to the books. I hated that part.

But then, there was another part; that part when friends reunited after family trips or spring break camps. Or in my case, when I reunited with my boyfriend.

It was a minute to the bell when I saw him bounding down the hall, his green book bag bouncing against his wonderfully round... nevermind. His hair had grown at least half an inch since school let out a week ago, and he had the beginnings of a nice tan. Maybe basketball camp wasn't a total waste. He said not a word as he jogged up to me and engulfed me in his arms. Pulling me tight against him, he placed a gentle kiss on my cheek and whispered into my ear.

"Hey. I missed you." It was simple, but I loved him for it. Why mince words that had no meaning behind them?

I wrapped my own arms around him and hugged him tight. God, did I ever miss this. I returned his kiss and murmured my response.

"I missed you too."

We held onto each other in silence for a while longer, relishing the simple presence of each other. I let out a relaxed sigh.

"So, how was basketball camp?"

Before Troy could answer, the bell rang loudly through the hallways. Reluctantly, I let Troy slip out of my grasp.

"I'll tell you later, 'kay?" he said, winning me over with that smile of his.

"Yeah, okay," I said faintly. I followed him into Ms. Darbus' classroom, where he started talking loudly with a huddle of his basketball friends. I took my seat a few rows over and set my bag down. As the class filled up, I occupied myself with watching him, as he laughed with his pals, recounting the fun they had at camp. He caught a glimpse of me and sent my way a discreet wink. Always a flirt. And I loved it.

Something momentarily obstructed my view, and a voice quite close to me said something.

"Hey Ryan."

I looked up. Jason had left the group and was making his way to his seat in the back row.

"Hey Jason," I said. "Good vacation?"

"Oh yeah. I had a blast at camp." He smiled at me and nodded his head. "Yep, it was a good one."

I laughed, trying not to make it sound like my fake conversational one. "That's good." I then turned away from him and redirected my attention to Troy. No offense to Jason, but I was more inclined to ogle at my boy than make idle chitchat.

An abrupt hush fell over the room as the jangle of many beads announced the arrival of Ms. Darbus. Everyone jumped into their seats, knowing what awaited them in detention if they weren't behaved. She appeared in the doorway in all her glory, wrapped in shawls and adorned with jewellery.

"Good morning, young virtuosos!" she greeted in that mystical yet powerful voice. "And welcome back to our beloved school. Now, first order of business..."

And that's where she lost me. Now don't get me wrong, I loved Ms. Darbus like an aunt, but I couldn't care less about when the next History tutorials were being held. Maybe that was why I was failing that class... Anyways, the clouds rolling by the window were a lot more interesting to me.

It was when I was trying to decide whether a certain cumulus looked more like a hippo or a rhino when a sudden tingling shot up and down my thigh. The soft buzz of my silver Motorola RAZR on vibrate alerted me to a new text message.

I shot a furtive glance to Ms. Darbus, but she was busy with a booklet of papers she was reading from. I seized my chance to whip out my cell phone and hide it behind my hat, which I removed on the pretence of scratching my head. With my cell safely out of sight, I flicked it open.

_New text message from: No ID_

Okay I got it, I don't have Caller ID. I really didn't need to be reminded each time someone called or left me a message. I selected 'view now' from the box and so I could read my new text. I had a good idea of who it was from.

_hey goodlookin. i missd seeing u ovr sprng braek._

Yeah, that was Troy. I smiled to myself and closed the text message. It was so like him to tell me he missed me again. Although, that week took a bit of a toll on his fingers. That was more typos than usual. I thought for a moment of how to respond before settling on something. Checking to make sure Ms. Darbus wasn't looking, I keyed in my reply.

_o, u flatterer. and u already kno i missed you._

I was satisfied with what I came up with, and I hit 'send.' With that taken care of, I slipped my hat back on and shoved my phone back into my pocket. I stopped to listen to what Ms. Darbus was saying, just in case it had something to do with the Spring Musical. Nothing doing; she was just rattling on about some teacher's conference.

I got bored with the clouds (Troy swears I have ADHD, but I just like to call it a short attention span), and so I took to examining the pattern on the back of my sister's sweater. She sat in front of me, and always provided something interesting to look at. Today, however, I saw something far more interesting than pink plaid. From over her shoulder, I could spot her phone, and her open text inbox. She was corresponding with a lover as well.

_New text message from: Zeke Baylor. hlo Sharpay. u wanna giv me a lil sugar afterschool?_

Ooh, not smart. Sharpay huffed, and I could see her typing in her response.

_i c basketball camp did nothing for ur manners. dont count on it!_ She pounded the send button and stowed her cell phone away. I had to snicker. Zeke needed work on his timing. The first day back to school was not the opportune time for sexual advances, especially on Sharpay.

"And in the Spring of seventy-one..."

I had been waiting for that. Jason had, once again, asked Ms. Darbus about her holidays. I was a bit surprised that I missed the entire class groaning. That was my cue to tune out Ms. Darbus again. As I slipped away into a daydream of showtunes and making out with Troy, I was once again jolted back to reality by another pulse of my cell phone. When the coast was clear, I pulled it out and read my new message.

_New text message from: No ID. o, im glad u missed me too. ive bin thniking about u all weak._

The touching sentiment was somewhat lost in the homonym-confusion, and despite my best efforts to suppress it, I let out a small snort of laughter. Ms. Darbus cast her eagle-eye my way, and for a fleeting moment, I thought I was done for. However, her eyes were gone the next moment and I breathed a sigh of relief. Disaster averted, for now at least.

I took my chance to compose my response.

_u are too sweet, u kno that? and uve been the only thing on my mind since u left 4 camp._

It was true. Most of my Spring Break was spent moping in my room or some other secluded spot, wishing so much that Troy was there with me. Talk about sappy romantics... but that's just the way h e made me feel. And to know that he had been thinking about me too, even when he was having the time of his life at basketball camp really meant a lot to me. Sometimes I really wondered how a guy like me got so lucky.

I sent the message in the nick of time, as Ms. Darbus swept past my desk to grab something from the back. Breathing a sigh of relief, I hid my phone in my sleeve and tried my best to look like I knew what was going on. Looking around, I tried to see if anyone else was paying attention. I snickered when they were all tapping away on their cell phones discreetly. Typical, although I was hardly one to talk. I resolved to make that my last text, lest I land myself another detention. Manual labour was not my thing.

In front of me, Sharpay had her own cell phone out again. While I really should have minded my own business, I was really eager to find out how Zeke was going to smooth things over.

_New text message from: Zeke Baylor. sharpay, i meant actual sugar. i have 4 dozen cupcakes to bake for next week's fundraiser. do u hav any to spare? ive run out._

I couldn't help but feel just a teensy bit disappointed. I was hoping for some half-baked lame-ass excuse, but that sounded true enough for Zeke. That boy was always baking. I continued to watch over Sharpay's shoulder as she replied.

_real sugar? ur a strange boy sometimes. im sure u can have a few kilograms. ill have it delivered afterschool. kisses._

She sent the message off.

Now that I was actually paying attention to what Ms. Darbus was saying (she had finally gotten to the audition dates), I was starting to realize how loud everyone's phones were getting. Usually, we weren't this bad with texting each other, but it was the first day back, and I guess everyone had a lot to say. I decided it was a good idea to ease up on the messaging for now. There was plenty of time to talk to Troy later.

The buzzing kept getting louder as Ms. Darbus reached the end of her announcements, and I feared that we'd all be stuck with her after school if everyone didn't stop. Cell phones were ringing left right and centre, and I was briefly reminded of a beehive. At the height of all this, my cell phone went off again.

I really didn't want to answer it, but I also didn't want to just ignore Troy. I debated the issue back and forth in my head. I thought again of that beautiful smile of his, and the way he held me in his arms. That did it for me. I had to see what he sent.

As subtly as I could, I slid my cell phone out of my sleeve and flipped it open.

_New text message from: No ID_.

"RYAN!" Oh crud, that was it. I didnt waste any time reading the message, but as fast as i could, i typed in:

_meet me at the usual place. luv u._

I then prepared for the worst. Ms. Darbus glided over to me with a contemptuous look on her face.

"Since your cell phone seems more interesting than me," she said in a low voice, "perhaps you'd like to share with the class what you're doing."

I swallowed. "Um, no thank you..."

Ms. Darbus held her infamous paint can in front of my face, and I reluctantly dropped my cell phone in.

"I was so hoping I'd find someone to paint the new props for the musicale." She turned to face the rest of the class. "And don't think I can't here the rest of you rebellious texters. CELL PHONES OUT, NOW!"

Just as it happened before, everyone pulled out their phones, one-by-one. Ms. Darbus took her bucket and began her mass confiscation, reading out loud some of the messages she came across. From Kelsi's phone, she read about her new compositions she wrote over the break. Taylor and Gabriella were once again talking equations. Chad was bragging about the basket he scored from centre court at camp. And Martha...

_rofl, i luv to pop n lock n jam n break._

Before Ms. Darbus could comment on that last message, the bell rang, and everyone collected their things and left in a hurry.

"Such wonderful little helpers," Ms. Darbus said sweetly. "And just in time for the Spring Musicale. Ta ta, see you all after school!"

I groaned as I pushed past everyone and made my way to my locker. I questioned in my head whether or not that was worth it... but then again, who was I kidding? Of course it was worth it; it was Troy! Thinking of him lifted my spirits as I pulled my locker door open and collected the books I needed for the day. I took my time with it, anticipating Troys arrival.

It came; that tap on my shoulder, that unmistakable touch. I knew what was coming as instinct turned me around and closed my eyes. Or at least, I thought I knew what was coming...

The kiss was... unbelievable. Troy always had a knack for catching me by surprise, but this time, it was a shockwave that came out of the blue. There was that familiar mixture of warm affection and hot passion as we entangled ourselves in each other's arms and pushed deeper into the kiss, and yet, there was something different that I couldn't quite place. The way that Troy held me, the way he seemed to lose himself in the heat almost made it feel like our first kiss all over again. Had he missed me that much? Did we both forget what it felt like?

It was getting too hard to keep track of these deep thoughts. All I needed was more. I needed to taste the salty sweet flavour of Troy's lips, to inhale nothing but his luscious, masculine scent. I wanted to stay forever in those strong arms of his, and hold onto that lovely, muscular body.

That's when I noticed it. Something else was different, other than Troy's renewed passion. I knew for a fact that Troy was a medium in an American Eagle polo, and what I was holding onto was an extra-large from... was it _Wal-Mart_?

He felt it when I faltered, and slowly, those lips gently floated away from my own. When I could breathe again, my eyes fluttered open a sliver. Then they bulged out of my head.

"JASON?"

_To be continued..._

* * *

**Author's Note: **OHH! Bet you didn't see that one coming (or maybe you did, I don't know, you tell me).

So basically, the whole idea behind this story came from something Sandshrew777 said in his review for the first story. He said that if he hadn't known who was texting Ryan, the ending might have been more satisfying. So that got me to thinking, what if it wasn't Troy that was texting him? What if I lead everyone on to believe it was him, and then reveal it to be someone else? And then it took off from there.

I also tried to give more depth to Troy and Ryan's relationship, again, suggested by Sandshrew777. Initially, I only set the story after Spring Break so the story could take place in homeroom class, but then it kinda grew from that, and it suddenly became a big plot device, and I loved it.

One thing that's absent from this story that I really wanted to keep was everyone else's text messages. In the first drafts, the story was told in third-person like the prequel, so i could dip in and out of other people's conversations. But then that had to change when I made it Ryan's story, and so the only other person we get to see is Sharpay. I tried to keep a little of it when Ms. Darbus started reading them, but it slowed down the story too much. The one I had to keep was Martha's though. I feel guilty for making her the butt of the joke... but I still have fun with it. :D

And why did I make it Jason? Because, I LOVE Jason, and I love him and Ryan together. Next to Tryan, Ryson is my favourite pairing, because Jason is absolutely adorable.

So yes, this story is _not_ a oneshot, and I'll be continuing it as we find out what exactly happened between Jason and Ryan. I do hope you all like the story so far, and please please _please_ review so I know how I'm doing. This is my first major fanfic update in three months, and I wanna know if I still need to work on things.

And for those of you waiting on _A Story From East High_, um... I'm still stuck on that one, I don't know when I'll have the next chapter up. Sorry!

Anyways, that's all from me for right now. Chapter Two is started, and should be up within the next week. 'Til then, please review! Thanks!

-tryanforever91


	2. Chapter 2

Hey everyone!

So, it's a lot later than I promised, but here is the second half of the story! I'll use the stock excuses of too much homework and crazy high school drama to justify this late update.

This is what I've wanted to do with No Cell Phones for a long time now, to take it to another level. I'm trying to up the bar here, and dive in deeper into the complexities a story like this can present. I wanted to play around with... everything really; with descriptions and emotions and dialogue and character work. It's hard to do this when life keeps interupting, but I wanted to stay commited to this story, to myself, and to you, the reader.

so, that's all i'm gonna say for now. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

* * *

**-Chapter Two-**

"Are you telling me that, despite the fact that I'm two inches taller and fifteen pounds lighter than Jason, you couldn't tell it was him until you felt his _shirt fabric_?"

An incredulous, and slightly peeved, expression darkened Troy's beautiful face as I finished telling him my story. I could only shrug my shoulders.

"You know me," I laughed nervously. "Clothes are my specialty." It was my best defense. It sucked ass.

Troy let out a long breath and looked away from me. He was trying to keep a lid on it. He was trying to maintain that famous Troy Bolton cool. _Oh God, Troy, I'm so sorry._ It took him a few minutes' hard staring at the floor before he could look at me again. His face was stern, but he was trying not to be angry with me.

"Ryan. How could something so obvious escape you?" Troy gritted out. "Am I so easy to forget?"

He may as well have punched me in the gut, and I would have deserved it too.

"Troy," I said pathetically, "I'm sorry. I was totally lost in the moment. I wouldn't have been able to think anything straight. But I didn't forget you! You've all I've been able to think about."

"Oh, that's funny," Troy said in a sardonic tone, "because that's what you told _Jason_, and not _me._" He crossed his arms and turned away from me again. Then he took it a step further.

_What is he... is he _pouting?! _Troy Bolton is pouting... history is being made..._

I could hardly believe it. What was I going to do now? I could have hugged him, but that seemed inappropriate. I could have said I was sorry again, but would have been redundant. Everything I thought of seemed wrong... and then I had an idea that might have been crazy enough to actually work.

Slowly, cautiously, I reached out my hand and laid it gently on Troy's. He looked at me at once, his eyes still cold and icy, but he did not move his hand. This was my chance.

I closed in on him, swift and gentle, and before he could react, my lips were on his. There was a fleeting moment of reluctance on his end, but he didn't push away. I could feel his hesitance succumb to hungry passion, and he gave into the kiss.

It had been a week, 604,800 seconds, since I last saw Troy, since I last touched him, since I last kissed him. We were making up for 604,800 seconds in this tiny stretch of time – a length dwarfed by our time spent apart, but made eternal through our love for each other. This was my apology; my best defense.

The gravity of reality slowly pulled us back to Earth. I pulled away from Troy, but I didn't let him go. He held onto me as well.

"Troy," I started quietly, "I love you, and you're all I've been able to think about this past week." I paused, before drawing in a breath and finishing what I wanted to say. "Will you forgive me?"

With those brilliant blue eyes of his, he stared at me and nothing else. Then, my heart swelled in my chest as his lips formed a smile. It was the same one he greeted me with this morning, the smile that meant more to me than anything else in the world.

"I will," he said. "I love you more than you could ever know, Ryan, and I could never stay mad at you."

I smiled back at Troy, feeling the best I had felt all weak. Uh, I mean _week._

-o-o-o-

I spent the rest of the day dreading detention, where Jason would be waiting for me, thinking that I loved him. To make everything a million times worse, Troy was not going to be there with me...

"What do you mean you didn't get detention?" I exclaimed in disbelief. Troy and I had walked back inside from the science garden where I had apologized to him. As I walked him to his locker, he started to explain.

"Ryan, I didn't have my cell phone out this morning. I didn't wanna land myself a detention because we have practice tonight. I guess that's a bust now, since the _rest_ _of the team_ did anyway."

We reached Troy's locker, and he set his bag done to undo the lock.

"Yeah, everyone including Jason," I mumbled. I jumped when I heard a loud bang, and I was even more surprised when I saw Troy's fist against his locker.

"Troy, wha—"

"When I see that jackass I'm gonna mess him up for what he did."

I stood stock still as I watched my boyfriend, just a little scared. Maybe mentioning Jason wasn't such a good idea. "Hey, Troy. Take it easy," I said uneasily.

"Take it easy?" Troy repeated. "One of my best friends just started hitting on my boyfriend, how can I 'take it easy?'Look, I tried to be with cool with this, but I got a bone to pick with Jason. I can't just let this one go."

Now I felt guilty again. Troy had forgiven me, but it was going to take a lot more to forgive Jason. I could hardly blame him – as Jason did start this whole mess –but I still felt partially responsible for what had happened. After all, it was my fault for assuming his texts were coming from Troy, and I went ahead and kissed him without even knowing it was actually him. If anyone was going to do something about this, it was going to be me.

"Look, Troy, I know you're angry, but I want to talk to Jason before you go pounding his face in." Troy tried to argue, but I cut him off. "It's still partly my fault, and I want to get some answers from him as well."

Troy closed his eyes and exhaled deeply. "Fine, you talk to him first. _Then _can I beat the shit outta him?"

"Troy, no!" I said exasperatedly. "I know that what he did was wrong, but I don't think he knows it. I mean, we're talking about Jason here. I don't think he realizes what he's done."

Troy still looked unconvinced, and I know he wanted to do nothing more than to track Jason down right now and sock it to him. So I caved.

"Oh okay, fine. I'll talk to him first. Then _if_, and only _if_, I'm not satisfied with what he has to say... _then _you can beat the shit out of him."

Troy looked positively delighted about this – so much that he planted a quick kiss on my lips.

"Thanks Ryan. I love you." I sighed.

"I love you too..."

Last period Biology let out far too early for my liking, and I resolved to walk at a funeral march pace to my imminent doom. I took a detour to my locker and took my sweet time collecting my things. When I could prolong things no longer, I made for the auditorium.

The Drama hallway was empty, and my every move I made echoed off the walls. Ugh, I really didn't want to do this.

I was at the door with my hand on the door handle when I felt it again. A short, intrusive vibration from my pocket. Curious, I pulled my phone out.

_New text message from: No ID. hey, whatever happens, just kno i believe in u. i know u'll make the right choice. Love, Troy._

That was it. That was all I needed to get me through those auditorium doors. All the strength I needed, Troy gave me. I pushed the doors open and strode inside, no longer afraid of what lay ahead. Before the door could close behind me, another figure pushed its way through. Jason's figure.

"Ah, yes! Jason and Ryan," Ms. Darbus greeted regally from the stage. "So happy you could make it. Since you two are the last ones here, I'm delegating you to the wonderful task of cleaning out the storage closet. Hop to it then!" Ms. Darbus clapped her hands and pointed Jason and I to the storage closet backstage.

I didn't turn to look at Jason as we silently marched to the closet. My head was racing with all sorts of morbid ideas. Jason and I? Alone in some dinky storage closet? I didn't think things could get any worse.

I made it before he did, and I opened the door, letting myself in. Only now did I allow myself to look at Jason. He was still at the door way, grinning sheepishly at me.

"Guess we're alone in here. Together." That voice gave me the creeps, and it meant nothing good in my mind. Jason shut the door, making me feel all the more uneasy, and he started walking toward me.

_Uh-oh, not good._ I hurriedly back away from the advancing Jason. "Ho-hold on a second!" I stammered.

"What's wrong?" Jason asked. His voice showed genuine, innocent confusion, but he still came closer.

"Jason, there's something you don't understand!" I said, realizing there was little space left behind me to retreat to. "I didn't know it was you who was texting me this morning!" This stopped Jason in his tracks.

"What?"

I closed my eyes and braced myself. It was now or never.

"When you texted me this morning... when you told me that you missed me, and that you were thinking of me... I thought you were Troy."

Jason's expression had gone from mildly concerned to incredulous and confused. His brow creased in a questioning frown, his mouth hung slightly agape.

"I... I know this is a lame excuse, but I don't have Caller ID, so I couldn't tell who was texting me. I just assumed it was Troy because... because what you said..." I couldn't finish my sentence.

Jason put his hands to his head, shaking it slightly as he sat on a cardboard box on the floor. "Wha—, this... this doesn't make sense," he breathed. I cringed. How else was I supposed to say this?

"Jason, I didn't know it was you because my phone—"

"Yeah I get that!" Jason suddenly shouted. "What kinda idiot do you take me for? No Caller ID, got it."

Now I was confused. "Then what don't you get?" Jason let out a shaky breath.

"Did you read my last text?" he asked sternly. My breath caught in my throat, and I started to panic. His last text? I hadn't even thought of it.

"Did you read it?" Jason asked again, louder this time.

"N-no," I uttered quietly. "I didn't have time."

Jason didn't say anything after that, but he looked pointedly at my pocket. I got the message, and I pulled my cell phone out again. I selected my inbox from the main menu, and I saw, right under the one Troy sent me, an unread text message. I glanced quickly at Jason before hitting 'view.' He looked almost as angry as Troy did.

_New text message from: No ID. wow, i cant believe u felt the same way aboat me. all ths time I thot u luved troy. tell me... do u luv me? -jason._

"I had a feeling," Jason said, making me jump as I forgot he was still in the room. "I felt like you were talking to someone else. So I had to be sure that you actually felt something for me. I had to ask. And you said you did."

It was a knife through my heart, the realization that finally came to me. I could remember as clear as anything what I told Jason after that.

_meet me at the usual place. __**luv u.**_

"Oh Jason," I said, feeling rotten for the second time today. All this time I was telling myself Jason was the dumb one. Boy, was I ever wrong. "Oh God, I'm so sorry. I just... I didn't know! I didn't have enough time to read it."

"But you had enough time to reply," Jason countered. No matter what I said... he was still right.

"Look, I'm sorry that it turned out like this, I really am. But you had to know that Troy and I were... together."

"Well of course I did!" Jason exclaimed. "That's the only thing Troy could talk about all Spring Break. Ryan this, and Ryan that."

I was shocked to hear that. "And were you jealous?"

"As hell! Maybe you haven't noticed, spending all your time staring at your boyfriend, but I have been jealous of Troy since day one. And just... just hearing him go on about you at camp. It made me feel pathetic, you know? I wanted that."

Wow. This day had so far been full of surprises, but this was the biggest yet. This was the giant, ugly, iceberg under the tip – the heavy weight of the truth hitting me head-on. Jason had been jealous of Troy all this time.

"So, this morning..." I didn't know how to finish the sentence. Jason had to for it for me, and I really had to ask myself who the stupid one was now.

"Yeah, I was just taking a chance. Givin' it a shot. Had nothing to lose, right? If you had said no, at least I could trust you to keep my secret. How the hell was I supposed to know Ryan Moneybags didn't have Caller ID?"

I felt numb all over. I had successfully screwed over two guys in one day, all on my own accord. "Okay, you're right. I'm sorry. How can I make this up to you?"

For the first time since we entered the storage closet, Jason said nothing. Suddenly, that angry scowl on his face turned into that bashful grin he was wearing before. It elicited the same feeling of foreboding within me. "...Jason?"

"Kiss me, Ryan," Jason said. "That's all I want. Then I'll forgive you."

I stared at Jason in horror. Was he actually asking this? "N-no! I've already kissed you once!"

"You weren't kissing me, Ryan. You were kissing Troy!" Jason said. "I want you to kiss me like you mean it for me."

"I can't do that, Jason," I said, trying to stay strong. "I'm sorry, but I don't feel that way about you."

Jason stood up, and he restarted his advance on me, faster this time. "You're an actor. Fake it. You're the Drama King, the star of 18 school musicals. One kiss should be nothing."

Before I knew it, I was up against the wall, and Jason's hands were planted on either side of my head against the solid concrete. I could have slipped away if I wanted to. Hell, I could have punched Jason and bought myself enough time to book it out of there. But I couldn't do it. I had done so many people wrong today... somehow I lost the will to do anything for myself. I deserved this.

There was a slam like a thunder crack, and Jason twisted around to see who had intruded upon them. In an instant, Jason was pulled away from me and Troy was suddenly standing in front of me.

"Cross, you backstabbing son of a bitch!"

There was a crack, a shriek of pain, and the thud of Jason's body hitting the ground. Troy made to lunge at Jason again, but I threw my arms over his shoulders and tried to restrain him. With all the strength I could muster, I pulled back on him, and we both toppled over. I was crushed between my 160 pound boyfriend and a solid concrete wall. It hurt like hell, but I think I had it coming.

"Troy, please stop!" I whispered urgently in his ear. "What are you doing here?"

"I said I trusted you," Troy said, his voice ragged with rage. "That doesn't mean I trust him. I'm glad I decided to come here, so I could catch this fucker in the act!" Troy tried to squirm out of my grasp, but I held on tight.

"Troy," I grunted, straining under the effort of holding him, "maybe you were right about Jason. But he's your friend. Don't go doing something like this to him." I risked letting go with one hand to run it through Troy's long, brown hair. I had to calm him down.

"But I—"

"Shh, Troy," I murmured softly. I squeezed him tight with one arm, while I continued to caress his head. "Come on, baby," I whispered. "It's not worth getting this angry for." I pressed my face against the back of his head, slowly letting the breath out of my nose. I could feel Troy shiver at the tingle of my breath, like he always did. I finished by placing a soft kiss on his neck.

Troy was relaxing in my arms. I could feel the pounding in his chest subside, his breathing returning to a normal rate. He sighed.

"This is why I need you, Ryan," he whispered. "You keep me from going crazy."

"You say that now," I whispered back, "but when we're left alone, you tell me I _drive_ you crazy."

He chuckled. "Maybe I do. But that just proves how much you mean to me." I smiled. I could have spent forever here, with Troy in my arms. But forever was cut short when Jason started to stir.

He stood up, and I could feel Troy tense again, but I held on tight, and he didn't move.

"I heard enough about you two from Troy here," Jason said, nodding at him, "but now that I see you two together like this... I know I was wrong."

Neither Troy nor I said anything.

"Listen bro. I'm sorry. I just wanted something special too. Guess you deserved it more than I did."

Troy sighed. "You did me a great wrong, but you're my bro, and I'm not gonna let this tear us apart. Just so long as this doesn't happen again, we're cool."

Jason nodded. "Yeah, it won't." He stepped closer to where Troy and I were sitting and held out a closed fist. Troy took his own and pounded it against Jason's. I cringed when I saw Jason's face.

"You might want to go to the school nurse before your face gets all bruised and swollen," I suggested meekly.

Jason looked at me and cracked a small grin. "Yeah, I think I will." He turned and made his way to the door and opened it. "I'll see you around." It shut behind him.

Troy fell limp in my arms again, and we both let out a long sigh.

"So, you got to punch Jason," I said. "Are you happy now?"

"Yes," Troy said, and I could tell he was grinning, "but not because of that."

"Then why?"

Troy took my hand and lifted it to his lips. He planted a feather light kiss on it and whispered, "'Cause I have you."

In the end, everyone got what they wished for. Troy got to punch Jason, I got to hug Troy... and Jason? Well, I rung up a friend of a friend of mine, set the two up on a blind date, and that's the last I ever saw of Jason Cross.

I got the chance to relive a moment in my life. It played out a bit differently, and there were more bumps along the way, but in the end, I still got my happy ending. And this time, I was able to give one to someone else as well.

Oh, and FYI... Troy Bolton _is_ a beast in bed.

_**The End**_

* * *

And there you have it.

First off, it was kinda hard at first making Jason the antagonist, but I wanted to do it anyways, to challenge myself. There were a million different directions i wanted to take this chapter, so I hope I chose the right way to go.

I didn't want to, but I kinda rushed this chapter. I had to get it done while I was still inspired and motivated enough to do it.

On a semi-related note... what the hell happened to Fall? it's like summer ended and winter began! I only bring this up because the first half of this chapter was written in my favourite spot in a park by my house. It's nice, quiet, got a lake i like to look out at, and it's a place i can really tap into my inner-writer. so it's kinda annoying when im sitting outside freezing my ass off when I'm trying to write this story! If there are any mistakes, i blame my numb fingers for it!

So, yeah, i hope you enjoyed that. I had a good time writing it, and I hope that i've shown some improvement.

Now that this story is done, I'm actually going back on hiatus. the big reason is, National Novel Writing Month is coming up, and I need to devote all my time to my 50,000 word story. It's about a cop who lives in New York who's trying to solve a big murder case to get a promotion. At the same time, some young aspiring playwright moves into his apartment, and the two sorta fall in love. if anyone has any suggestions for that, i'd really appreciate it.

Soo, that's all for now I guess. Again, i hope you all enjoyed that chapter, and please review!

thanks for readin'! i'll catch you all later.

-tryanforever91


End file.
